


wool and cashmere

by colourvision (orphan_account)



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Enemies to Lovers, M/M, is it possible to write dmfx where felix never calls dimitri a boar? we shall see
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-03-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:00:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22548175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/colourvision
Summary: Thales takes Rodrigue's identity, instead of Arundel's. Edelgard becomes a princess of the Kingdom, while Dimitri is experimented on by TWSITD.The Dimitri that Felix finds years later isn't the Dimitri he remembers, but a human weapon fighting for an incomprehensible cause. Meanwhile, Edelgard must work with the Church and a revenge-driven Rhea to fight against the people that have destroyed her family, take back the Empire, and bring peace to the realm.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Felix Hugo Fraldarius
Comments: 20
Kudos: 71





	1. FELIX I

Professor Seteth announced the mission to the class, one cool day. Felix could feel a draft from the window.

“It will be an escort mission, at the end of the month,” he said. “We will be bringing a lady and her grandchild from the Alliance to the capital of the Empire. I expect this to be a simple mission, but it should go without saying that I expect everyone to remain cautious during this mission.” 

Felix knew why he advised caution; there was a general sense of unease in the world outside of Garreg Mach. Reports of bandit attacks and highwaymen ambushing travellers were common.

Class was dismissed. Felix packed his books, and set out for the training grounds. Sylvain was behind him, hardly hiding his presence. The training grounds were loud; Felix could hear the _thwacks_ of lances against the quintains.

Finally, Felix grew tired of Sylvain’s presence. Why had he come only to loiter uselessly? “What is it?” Felix asked.

“Hey, hey,” Sylvain said, holding up his arms in surrender. “You don’t have to sound so mad at me all the time, you know. I just wanted to ask you something.”

Felix felt something digging into his shoulder - his baldric and his sword.

“It’s almost as if you want to do anything but train.”

“Well, you train hard enough for the both of us. Anyway, Ingrid wanted to ask if you would… I don’t know, do something to commemorate -”

“Ingrid can talk to me directly if she wants to,” Felix said.

“I told her that she likes to blame things on the wrong person,” Sylvain said, with a weak smile.

“There is nothing to commemorate.”

 _What else was there to say_ , thought Felix. After all, there was no proof that either Dimitri or Glenn were dead. Dimitri and Glenn, Glenn and Dimitri. Felix would repeat their names in his mind, reversing the order. Three years since Glenn and Dimitri had set off to subdue a rebellion, three years since his father had informed him that they were considered missing.

It had been three years since they had disappeared and his father had - changed.

Felix continued: “Tell Ingrid if she wants to be chivalric - if she wants to honour her _king_ , her _prince_ -this is the wrong way to go about it.”

Chivalry! What a farce. His father had rambled on about it endlessly during Felix’s childhood. His admiration for King Lambert had been clear to all. He had told Felix that the purpose of his lessons, the purpose of everything he was doing was to protect Dimitri, and to protect the king. He had watched Rodrigue brag about Glenn endlessly, the way he had proven himself in the Royal Guards.

And then - he had changed. His eyes had grown cold. He had become a liar, a hypocrite. Felix could not help but notice that this had happened near the time that Glenn and Dimitri had disappeared. 

“You should try talking to her too,” Sylvain said.

“We’ve already talked. She has chosen to mope. I have not.”

“I’d say it’s the opposite.” Sylvain turned around quietly, leaving Felix at the training grounds by himself. 

Glenn and Dimitri had been sent to suppress that rebellion so long ago. Three years. They had never arrived to where they were _supposed_ to be, and their bodies had never been found. Felix had questioned his father, and had quickly realised he was never going to get a real answer. 

*

Ingrid’s words lingered in Felix’s head. They rankled. He had been too blunt, and worst of all, Sylvain had been the one to deliver his message. Ingrid kept her distance in the time that passed before the mission - silent in class, avoiding him in the training grounds. And she still had not spoken to him, on the second day of their mission.

They had set up camp and gathered by the fire. Night was falling; Felix would soon be keeping watch. He glanced around - open fields, a road paved by thousands of footsteps. Their mission was running smoothly. They were almost at their destination.

Felix bit into a plain oatcake. Simple food, made by Ashe and Mercedes over an open fire a few days ago. “Good for long treks,” Ashe had said. Felix had an extra one. He was going to use it to apologise to Ingrid. He had been too blunt; he should have talked to her himself. The camp they had made was small enough, and Felix found her tending to her pegasus, a peaceful look in her eyes.

“I wanted to apologise,” he said, conscious of how rehearsed his words sounded. She glanced at him, eyes wide. _She was not expecting this_ , he thought.

“It’s alright,” she said. She was brushing the pegasus’ hair. “I don’t know why I sent Sylvain to talk to you instead of going myself. But your family isn’t very _communicative_. Maybe I already knew what you were going to say but didn’t want to hear it from you. Do you know how long it took us to find out about what happened to Glenn? Your father didn’t even tell us.”

“I can hardly be blamed for my father’s actions,” Felix said. He suppressed the petulance in his voice. He was here to apologise, not to defend himself. In truth, he had always found it odd, too. Ingrid had always been like an older sister to him, and he had thought she’d be a part of the family for as long as he could remember. This was something he had always taken for granted. But if his father had stopped communicating with him, then he shouldn’t have been surprised that he had stopped communicating properly with Ingrid’s father as well.

“You could have spoken to me. Forget about it. I wanted to let you know that my father has finalised the decision. Take a look,” Ingrid said. Her words were heavy, a note of bitterness in her voice so subtle, Felix wondered if he was imagining it. She pulled out something from her bag. In her hands was a portrait miniature, a very small painting in the austere Kingdom style of a man that Delix did not recognise.

“It’s Christophe Gaspard,” Ingrid said. “Ashe congratulated me, you know. He gave me some extra oatcakes.”

“It’s always food with you,” said Felix. “That reminds me - I have an extra one -”

“It’s alright.” She shook her head. “It’s not the path that I would have chosen myself. I would have gone to the Royal Guard, and been a dutiful knight. I’m sure King Lambert needs protection now, more than ever.” It was well-known that the King was in his sickbed now, tended to by the Queen consort, Patricia. Felix had heard rumours - that he was dying, dead, that he had been dead for months - floated around at Garreg Mach, baseless gossip treated as if it were fact.

Of course, when the Kingdom’s heir - _Prince Dimitri_ \- had disappeared, like _that_ , it was no surprise that gossip about the royal family had increased.

“Anyway, I need to finish grooming this pegasus,” she said.

Felix nodded at her, satisfied, and turned back to the camp. It had become dark quickly, and he had to keep watch for the first few hours of the night. Unless - 

Felix heard a noise. Something suspicious. Where was it coming from? Footsteps, and the clatter of weapons. From the sound of them, they were not attempting to keep quiet. 

_Bandits_ , he thought.

It was so dark, he could barely see. Felix drew his sword and called for help. He could rely on them to wake up in an instant, but for now, he pursued the enemy closest to him. He could barely see what they looked like - the clothing they wore looked like nothing he had ever seen before. 

They rushed at him, lunging with their sword in their hand. Felix leaped away. His opponent was weaker, he could tell. They swung their sword at him with killing intent. Felix went on the defensive, and caught their sword with his, and sent it flying. 

The enemy was disarmed. Felix looked around. There was Edelgard on a wyvern fighting in the distance, axe in her hand, steel gleaming from the light of magic and fire from both sides. 

The enemy - they didn’t look like common bandits, now that he was able to see them better - must have underestimated the strength of the Blue Lions. There weren’t very many of them, and they were being taken down quickly. Sylvain was skewering someone with his lance, tall on his horse; Mercedes was directing Nosferatu at someone else. Felix’s sword was light in his hands.

He turned. Edelgard was fighting someone; masked and tall, red feathers at their neck, lance in hand. Edelgard swung her axe towards their face. The enemy in the mask caught the attack with their lance, but the force of it seemed to have caught them by surprise - Edelgard was stronger than she looked. Their mask was chipped, its left side falling down onto the grass. 

Felix ran towards the fight. He could see white hair, a single blue eye, clouded with anger. Felix hesitated. Did he know that face?

 _Dimitri disappeared years ago,_ Felix thought. _He’s not going to show up here, out of nowhere._

A sudden burst of pain caught Felix by surprise. He had left his back open; someone had impaled him while he was distracted. Felix fell back and staggered onto the ground. He remembered Dimitri’s face, from all those years ago. It was all he could think of as the pain engulfed him. And there was Mercedes, running towards him - he could hear her casting Heal, but the words seemed too far away.

*

After Manuela had tended to him, Edelgard visited Felix in the infirmary. He was recuperating. Whatever Manuela had given him had made him drowsy, lethargic. He felt a keen sense of humiliation that he had been left in this state.

Edelgard looked at him, and brushed her long, brown hair away from her face. She looked serious, her face hard. He was used to seeing her with Hubert, her retainer and bodyguard; he seemed to stick to her like poisonous air. But for once he was nowhere to be seen.

“How did you get yourself so badly injured?” she asked. “Professor Manuela tells me that you were impaled through your _lung_. That if Mercedes hadn’t been there to Heal you right away, that fight would have been deadly.”

“I was distracted,” Felix said. 

“You don’t seem the type to get distracted easily in battle. You’re always the first one at the training grounds in the morning, practising your swordplay.”

Felix scowled.

“Felix, what made you stumble like that?”

Felix hesitated. He had only his suspicions. The very idea that Dimitri had somehow come back - either that he had never disappeared in the first place or that he had come back from the dead - only to fight against him, was so foolish that Felix could hardly put it into words.

“I thought I recognised the man in the mask. The one they called the Flame Prince. But I didn’t.”

Her eyes seemed to be assessing him. “I don’t know who it was, either. But whatever this group’s goals were, we have deterred them. For now. They didn’t seem like simple bandits to me. Seteth tells me that our escortees escaped without any harm. But I swear, that once I come into power in the Kingdom, I will get to the bottom of this.” 

She furrowed her brow.

“Felix,” she said. “After we graduate, I will get a clear answer from your father, and I’ll send you to do it.”

“My father,” Felix said. “You can send for him any time you like.” There was bitterness in his voice; Edelgard glared.

“You know very well that I can’t do that. He’s the least trustworthy man in the Kingdom right now.” How could Felix debate this? There was no one else in the room except him and her. Annoyance swept through Felix - he wanted to sleep and recover as quickly as possible, so that he could go train. He wanted his sword, he wanted his reason textbooks. He would ask Mercedes to teach him the basics of Healing. His eyelids were heavy.

Look for his father? Why? There were only two people he wanted to look for, and even if Edelgard was the now the next heir to the Kingdom, he had not been raised for her the way he had been raised for Dimitri. She was an intruder, and if Felix recognised that this was an unfair way to think of her, it did not him from believing it was the truth.

“Felix,” she continued. “I know that _you_ want to know what happened to Glenn and Dimitri.”

“If I knew what had happened to them, I wouldn’t be wasting time here.”

“You never got a clear answer. It’s all been hidden from you, just like it’s been hidden from me. I think what happened to them - I think it was similar to what happened to my siblings.”

Siblings, siblings, she must have had siblings. The Emperor had had wives and concubines galore, hadn’t he? Minus Patricia. She had been exiled from the Empire, and had married King Lambert, whom she now tended to, in his sickness. Fódlan was a continent ruled by sick men. Patricia - Dimitri had mentioned her a long time ago. He had said his step-mother was kind.

“I wouldn’t mention this to just anyone. But what happened to my siblings - my uncle has tried to keep it from me. I know he doesn’t wish to worry me. He is overprotective.” Edelgard’s face was marked by a bittersweet smile. “There are forces working against us, buried into the fabric of the Empire. And I am choosing to trust my classmates. The Blue Lions…”

“I’ll explain later,” she said abruptly. A second later, she was gone, leaving Felix in the infirmary by himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much to [ictus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ictus) for being my beta reader and helping me massage this story into shape.
> 
> this is just me assuming that lord arundel was just a normal person when he brought edelgard to the kingdom, and that thales only replaced him when he brought edelgard back to the empire for the experiments. i believe that lambert and arundel were working together to find a way to bring edelgard into the royal family of the kingdom, until arundel was replaced by thales in 1174, in canon. however, that never happens in this AU, and patricia and lambert's marriage becomes public knowledge.
> 
> so, edelgard gets to stay in the kingdom, and TWSITD never get a reason to lie to patricia so that she can get her daughter back. i'm so sorry, rodrigue.
> 
> i've tried to keep the characters' core traits as much as i can, while trying to figure out how different they would be if the tragedy of duscur, and other events, never happened as they did in canon. i hope they don't seem too OOC! i hope you enjoy it.


	2. EDELGARD I

Edelgard sat at her desk, light pouring through the windows as she glared at the documents, reports, and letters strewn on her desk. Her work had only increased since she had graduated from Garreg Mach a year ago, and as the princess of the Kingdom, the work had fallen on her. She carefully readjusted her hair. She kept it in a low bun, to keep it out of her face.

There was knocking at the door. “Come in,” she said, already knowing it was Hubert. She could recognise the way he knocked.

“I believe this requires your immediate attention,” he said grimly. There was a hard edge to his voice. There was anger in his voice, but it was anger on her behalf. She could always tell. In his hands was an opened letter. Hubert handed it to her, and she read through it. The handwriting was familiar enough that that there was no chance of a forgery. 

“A letter from _him_ \- And this is the one letter that I managed to intercept, although who knows how much betrayal has escaped us? What dangers to you that we have simply let slip through our hands? Rodrigue Fraldarius has been plotting against you from the moment you arrived in the Kingdom. While King Lambert has simply seen fit to languish and avoid his responsibilities…”

Edelgard’s eyes widened. “Hubert! You know he has been quite unwell. And that my mother has been doing what she can to help him, and us. She is only the queen consort.”

“Your Highness. I apologise.” He bowed.

“As for this letter. I know what it is that you want to do. You’ve reminded me time and time again of the weapons at your disposal… Poison, magic…” Edelgard sighed, her face stony. “But the fact remains that he has been sending letters to the leader of the Alliance, asking him for support in disposing the Kingdom’s rightful king. And me, along with him. We cannot simply ignore this.”

“Such brazen treason…”

“Something like this should not have been so easy for us to find.” She placed the letter on her desk, looking at the food she had brought up for herself - a slice of honey cake. Unbidden, a passing thought went through her head - she was grateful for Empire cooks that she had convinced to come with her to the Kingdom. “I believe that we were meant to find this, Hubert.”

“I see. You believe someone is trying to sow discord among us. That they are targeting you specifically. Of course. If you were to simply accuse the Duke with nothing but a letter that you could easily forge, it would be your word, as - pardon me - as _intruders_ to the royal family.”

Edelgard nodded. She had always felt out of place in the Kingdom. It was cold, always cold, despite the fire in the hearth burning merrily in the corner. She tightened her furs around herself.

“And if we succeeded in any way,” Hubert said, “I’m certain that they would find a way to blame us. And the men loyal to Fraldarius would not like - _that_. He is a well-allied man.”

“We must not forget about what happened to my father, to my siblings,” Edelgard said, bitterness creeping into her voice. What had happened to her family - she had only suspicions, knowledge that she had gained at great costs. They were dead, most likely, but the motives for their deaths was still a mystery to her. She was grateful to her uncle, Lord Arundel, for bringing her and her mother to the Kingdom successfully, and for keeping them out of danger, but he had hidden too much from her. She was not soft, vacuous. To have left her family behind in their time of need - the guilt gnawed at her. 

“We are not safe,” she continued, “even behind the mantle of the royal family. We must tread carefully. We must keep our allies close. But when the time is right - we will act.”

“Of course,” Hubert said. “With this in mind, what are you planning to do about the Fraldarius son - Felix?”

“I promised him a long time ago that he would do me a favour.” She stood up. “And I believe that this is the correct time to call on our allies. Hubert, I’ll be sending you as an envoy to Archbishop Rhea. Please deliver this letter to her directly. You must explain how important it is for her to come to Fhirdiad, so that I can talk to her in person. Thank you, Hubert. You are dismissed.”

“Thank you,” he said. Hubert bowed, and left her office in an efficient stride.

_Now is the most opportune time to have Felix look for Rodrigue_ , she thought. _I have been wasting my time. Felix would have known his habits… I should have used him as a spy. Would he have turned against me?_

Closing the door of her office, Edelgard made her way down to where she expected him to be - the training grounds of the castle. That was where Felix always was. Watching him from a distance, she got the impression that he was restless, waiting for something. Dissatisfied, but unsure of where to turn to next. The grounds were empty, except for the two of them.

“I always see you training here, more than anyone else,” Edelgard said.

“Hm,” he said. He sheathed his sword, and turned away from the training dummy, facing her. “It’s important. You never know what you’ll see on the battlefield next.”

_The Flame Prince_ , she thought. The knowledge that Hubert had been able to obtain with his meager amount of spies had been sparse, but they had been able to piece together what they could. The Flame Prince, working with a shadowy group of people - Hubert had dubbed them Those Who Slither in the Dark - they had helped Duke Aegir spearhead the noble rebellion against their Emperor. This had happened so long ago, back when she was still a child. And they had done something to her siblings, who were now gone, disappeared. She had pressed her uncle, had asked him what had lead him to leave the Empire, taking her and her mother with him, but his answers had been less informative than she had wished.

Her belief was that the Flame Prince was her old step-brother. She had not shared this thought with anyone, except for Hubert. Perhaps she did not want it to be true.

“You must be bored of sparring against an opponent that will never fight back,” Edelgard said, gesturing towards the training dummy. “Spar with me for a moment.”

He nodded. She grabbed a dingy iron axe from the corner, and allowed him to get into position. Pivoting towards him, she swung the axe with full force, bringing it down in a dangerous arc. He met the axe, holding his sword diagonally and stopping her from causing any real harm.

She swung this way and that, high and low. The axe was light in her hands. He was on the defensive - a light and agile opponent - but she moved too fast for him to find a chance to attack. This went on until Edelgard stepped back, holding her hand up, giving herself a chance to breathe. She was stronger than him. But only just.

“You’re strong,” Felix said. He was never a sore loser, that much could be said for him.

“Your training has produced admirable results,” she said, smiling. “No one would be able to tell that you sustained a serious injury not too long ago. If only more people were this dedicated… But this is unfair of me. I believe most of Faerghus would overwork themselves through training and fighting if I demanded them to.”

“That may be more true than you think.”

Edelgard looked away. “Someone from the Kingdom once gave me a dagger, and told me to carve my future with it, but I believe a mere dagger would be inadequate. I’d much rather smash my way to a brighter future with my axe.”

Felix was silent, staring at her. She laughed. “I’m sorry, but I do seem prone to giving these sorts of foolish speeches when Hubert isn’t around, don’t I? He says I should leave the dramatics to him.”

“No,” he said. “I was just thinking about something. You reminded me of someone.”

“Hm. I should explain why I came down here to talk to you, specifically. Felix, I have a task for you.”

“What is it?”

“I need you to go to the Fraldarius estate. Felix, you must go and find your father, and arrest him. He is suspected of high treason.”

He shook his head. “Why are you sending me? It makes no sense.” 

“Are you asking me why I’m not suspecting you? It would be foolish of me to look for enemies everywhere, when you have nothing to rouse my suspicions. Besides, I believe Hubert would have notified me if you had done anything - anything at all - to aid your father, or to work against us in any way.”

“Fine.”

“Are you sure? You don’t need time to think about it?” She smiled. “You’ll be going alone. You’ll be given a palfrey, and a small amount of money. Your weapons - bring those along, of course. You must go alone. Play the repentant son. But bring him here, alive, at all possible costs. He must be put on trial when he arrives. We must learn what we can from him. But you’ve known him his entire life. You must know how to beat him.”

Felix was silent for a moment. “He hasn’t been like this his whole life. Just - for the past few years.”

“Showing his true colours, no doubt.” She nodded. “Please bring him back as soon as you can. The estate is very close to the castle. And be careful. I know you’re strong enough to succeed.” 

*

The Archbishop came several days later. Edelgard had sent Hubert as her envoy, so that he could petition for her. She had wondered if she had made the right choice after she had sent him - undoubtedly loyal, but would he be convincing? Perhaps Mercedes, with her gentle bearing, would have been a better choice. But there was very little time to lose, and she had decided that he would be able to effectively communicate how severely she needed to talk to the Archbishop, in person.

Rhea was brought up to Edelgard’s chambers. Hubert trailed behind her, his face grim, as always. Rhea’s headpiece and her white dress looked pristine, giving the impression that she was some sort of ethereal being, rather than a human who had just travelled a great distance in a short period of time. Edelgard herself had dressed formally - a deep blue gown, decorated with golden thread from her neck to her ankles, and her smooth hair in a low bun.

“I have been greatly disturbed to hear about the… dark events that you state to have occurred here,” Rhea said. Her voice was smooth, immaculate. “Lord Arundel and I had hoped that you would be welcome in the Kingdom. To think that a child bearing the Crest of Seiros would find the Kingdom in such disarray... It is most distressing. I would be glad to assist you in any way that I can.”

Edelgard bit her tongue before she could say anything foolish. _Why did no one do anything to help my siblings? Why am the only one who must act, years too late?_ But the expression on her face was as bland and as harmless as a child’s. She could give no hint to her misgivings. If she needed help to achieve her goals, she would take what she could. _The Archbishop must have limited power by herself. After all, the Church relies on donations from the nobility, and the Knights of Seiros are quite small - they may be disciplined, but they would be defeated in any real battle, wouldn’t they?_

“No, no. I am grateful to you - that you could come on such short notice. But I believe the circumstances call for desperate measures. We must act quickly.”

“Please explain to me the full extent of your suspicions, child.”

“I told her that it would be best to hear it from your own lips,” Hubert said.

“These words may sound foolish,” Edelgard said, smiling, “but I can assure you, we have proof enough to back them up. In short - I believe that the Empire has been taken over. This must have begun slowly, decades ago, when the Church and the Empire went their separate ways. The Emperor - my father - is merely a puppet, forced against his will to follow their commands. And they? I believe that they are an obscure cult, followers of Nemesis. They took my siblings -” Edelgard paused, realizing that her voice was faltering. She must sound strong, at all moments. She would only work against herself and her goals if she showed weakness at the wrong time.

“They took my siblings - what must have happened to them must have been terrible, as my uncle has not been very forthcoming with information. But he must have known - why else would he have spirited us away to the Kingdom?”

Rhea, all the while, was nodding. _If she is concerned on my behalf, then our work is almost complete,_ thought Edelgard.

“This is difficult news to hear. Perhaps it was a mistake not to push harder for reconciliation with the Adrestian Empire. But you look as if you have more to say.”

“Yes,” Edelgard said. “This cult’s influence has not been limited to the Empire. I believe they have extended their reach to the Alliance, as well as the Kingdom. Did you notice? One of the missions we had, when I was still a student at Garreg Mach? Those bandits - but I believe they were no real bandits - they were specifically targeting a _child_. A child with a crest. I know this has to be related to what happened to my family.” She clenched her fists, feeling her nails digging into her palms.

“I have suspicions that Rodrigue Fraldarius is working with these people. I believe that he is the reason for the disappearance of Prince Dimitri, and his son Glenn. And I believe that he has been poisoning our current King Lambert.”

In the corner, there was Hubert - silent, assessing the Archbishop and waiting for her response. Edelgard knew that he felt the same hope that she did. She was tired of waiting, of passiveness - 

“This is high treason you speak of. And yet… If you are correct in your suspicions…”

“I do not speak of it lightly. My mother and Cornelia, our healer, have been tending to him constantly. But I fear that he gets worse by the day.”

Rhea clasped her hands together. “I understand the need to act, but we must not do anything rash. Please, tell me what I can do to assist you.”

“If King Lambert dies now, the state of the Kingdom will be chaos. You must witness my coronation, and allow me to be crowned the Queen of Faerghus. Then, and only then, will I be able to act.”

Rhea smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next up: old friends, new faces.


	3. DIMITRI I

The room was cold, so cold that Dimitri could feel it pass through his skin, into his bones. Grey granite bricks surrounded him. The room was small. There were countless mages in a ring around him, their faces covered so that he could not recognise them. No matter. They were not paying attention to him.

He could hear metal chains banging against the wall, could feel the harsh wind against his face. Dimitri walked past the mages. A voice was calling to him, familiar and strong. The path was dark and endless; Dimitri could hardly see where he was placing his feet, but he continued to follow the voice.

_Glenn._ It was Glenn calling to him, Glenn calling for help. “Dimitri,” Glenn said. “Please, help me.” _What a strange thing for Glenn to ask for._ _Why would the prince help a member of the Royal Guard,_ thought Dimitri. Surely it was the other way around? Glenn was tall, and strong, and proud, a true warrior.

Dimitri continued to walk. And there was Glenn, right in front of him, kneeling. There was despair in his posture. Dimitri could not see his face - it was as if his features had been wiped off. But the rest of him was bloody and scarred. There were more mages surrounding Glenn, scalpels and needles in their hands. And there were the von Hresvelg children, too. The Emperor’s children. They were all here, faceless, their arms stretched out to Dimitri, calling to him from every side… 

Dimitri woke up, shuddering. These nightmares had plagued him, as of late, but he was almost grateful for them. They were reminders. He had survived, while the others had died. Nothing but reminders. Dimitri had to wake up, and complete the work set in front of him. He prepared himself for the day, slowly.

Dimitri’s task had been to stand guard for the Fraldarius estate. There was some sort of secret weapon that they would be able to use in the battlefield, hidden in the underground, in the crypts.

The estate was nostalgic for him. Despite himself, a part of him associated the estate with kinder, gentler memories. It was a weakness, he knew, but the memories were too sweet. Horseplay, fooling around with Fraldarius brothers in the courtyard, as children. Visiting the estate with his father. Glenn holding his sharp tongue and sympathetically consoling Dimitri after he had broken yet another lance - the strength that the Minor Crest of Blaiddyd had bestowed on him was proving to be too difficult to control at such a young age. He remembered how Felix had cried after Dimitri had - what was it? Oh, yes, broken his favourite sword, the one Felix had insisted had been lucky. They had been so young then.

Rodrigue had been indulgent to Dimitri. He had once heard his father scold him in a good-natured way. “You’ll spoil the prince, if you’re not careful,” King Lambert had said, laughing.

These memories were so faint that Dimitri was not sure if he had imagined them; as delicate as a bubble floating in the air.

Glenn. How he missed him. He remembered, still, how Glenn had died, after they had both been spirited away to the Empire. The experiments - Glenn crying out in pain, despite the great amounts of laudanum that they had provided for him.

Dimitri wondered why he himself had survived. He had brought up this question to Rodrigue, once.

“Don’t be foolish,” Rodrigue had said, frowning. “Don’t you understand? It is only with sacrifices like these that we are able to fight back against the Children of the Goddess. His death will allow you to stand as our greatest weapon against them. Without his death, we would never have been able to implant a second crest in you. You will be the key to our salvation.”

So - Dimitri had accepted that. More than accepted; he had welcomed it. There was an end goal to all of this. The crimes of the Children of the Goddess, Rodrigue had said, and the Agarthans had no choice but to fight back. It was their fault that it had to be done with such underhanded methods. Couldn’t Dimitri see?

Dimitri saw Glenn in his dreams frequently, asking him for help. And he saw the Emperor’s children too. They looked so similar to his step-sister. He heard them, too - in his dreams, and sometimes when he was awake, when he had not slept enough. The work that Rodrigue had given him was arduous. But Dimitri completed each task with pride. He would be a good weapon, whatever they expected of him. Dimitri had a responsibility - to carry out their goals, to make sure their deaths were not in vain. 

The great hall was empty - a sad place, all granite and stone. Dimitri remembered it as somewhere alive and bustling. Rodrigue kept a small household; every servant had been handpicked personally. King Lambert had not visited for years. He was too sick now, Dimitri was told. He had not seen his father in years, and would have been likely to forget his face, had it not been for the paintings of him scattered around the estate.

“It seems that the girl has made her move,” Rodrigue said. He had a tendency to arrive out of nowhere, so quiet that Dimitri could barely hear him. “Working with the vile Archbishop to take away your father’s throne. Their ultimate goal is to, of course, tear apart Fódlan… All of the sacrifices we have made are to put an end to their plotting. We will cleanse Fódlan of their influence.” 

His fingers clenched around the lance he always kept with him. Sometimes he would get some fighting practice in when he could. He hated tasks like these - he liked to _fight_.

“How despicable,” Dimitri replied.

“She is working willingly with the ultimate goal of ripping apart Fódlan.” Rodrigue glared at him. “Never forget your task. You were created for the purpose of destroying the Children of the Goddess. These Nabateans must not be allowed to rule over Fódlan.”

“A task I’d complete gladly.”

“Good. You might be interested in knowing exactly what they have done. The Archbishop has manipulated your step-sister into donning a crown that does not belong to her. We hear rumblings that they are planning to use the Kingdom and the Church to declare war against Edelgard’s true father, the Emperor, for no purpose than to cause suffering and strife across the realm.”

“If you would give me leave, I would go to Garreg Mach and rip the Archbishop’s head from her neck and display it for all to see,” Dimitri said, smiling. He ached to see action. The tales of the Nabateans’ cruelty, the crimes they had committed for centuries were enough to inflame him. These accounts had been relayed to him since he had been brought to the Empire.

Dimitri recalled that he had once tried to escape. Back when he had been young and ignorant of the responsibilities he had to fulfill. He had been able to rip the chains off of the dungeon walls, and break through the walls that had stood in the way of his escape. The combination of his two crests, one that he had been born with, and one that they had implanted, had made him unbelievably strong. It had taken too many people to stop him and bring him back. How foolish he had been.

“No,” Rodrigue said. “It’s bad enough that we couldn’t let you go to Garreg Mach under the guise of an ordinary student, a simple prince. Your quick temper would have spoiled too many of our plans, and we would never have gotten our hands on the Crest Stones.”

But Rodrigue was wrong. Dimitri’s temper wasn’t quick. It was something he had nurtured over the years.

*

Several days passed before Dimitri saw a figure in the distance. The estate rarely saw any visitors. It was as if people knew not to go near it. There was someone there, mounted on a horse, galloping towards Dimitri at a high speed. Not one of Rodrigue’s people, he knew. They wore dark clothes, and the day was so foggy that Dimitri could not make out any of his features - although Dimitri could hardly complain about that; he himself never showed his face when he went out. Rodrigue had explicitly forbidden it. And besides, he did not want anyone to see him like _this_. 

Hidden beneath the mask, red and white. _The Flame Prince_. That’s who he was, had been for as long as he could remember.

Steel lance in his hand, cold underneath his gloves, he stood, ready for any opponent coming his way. His two crests made sure of that. He could feel them at all times, like buzzing in his ears. The Crest of Blaiddyd, and the Crest of Flames. The figure could come as close as they’d like. Dimitri could wait.

There he was - the hollows underneath his eyes, the dark hair escaping from his hood. Dimitri stood as still and silent as a statue, and suddenly, he recognised that face. It was Glenn, of course. But he had seen Glenn, always saw Glenn, in his last moments, rugged and raw and bloody, begging for help. 

And this was someone healthy and hale and strong, coming off his horse. Someone who moved in a way that made his strength clear, and yet, there was something about him that made him seem almost uncertain. He was unsheathing his sword. He was approaching Dimitri. He was walking slowly, not running or attempting to attack Dimitri, as Dimitri expected he would. The horse was beside a tree, scraping at the ground.

“Don’t you recognise me?” the man asked. He looked as if he was pleading to Dimitri, before scowling, and taking a quick step towards him. He flicked his blade, as if to invite Dimitri to act. Dimitri parried his stroke through brute strength alone, and it wasn’t until the man lunged at him, that he realised: it was Felix. Of course it was. It was Felix that was fighting with finesse, careful and prudent. Dimitri realised that he was holding back his strength, quite accidentally. Odd. He usually had the opposite problem, using too much strength instead.

Felix was parrying his blows, a grimace on his face. Of course it was Felix. He was weak, and Dimitri was aware that he could easily overpower him, if he wanted to. 

How could he have mistaken him for his brother, now that he thought about it? Felix had always been the sweeter one. But any sweetness that he might have had was now gone from him.

“Answer me!” Felix yelled. He was holding up well. Dimitri was just playing, really, striking, impaling, up and down, but Felix always parried. He was always on the defense. Felix was intense, eyes gleaming. He moved as if he were dancing through the grass. _He is enjoying this_ , thought Dimitri.

Dimitri stepped back. “You fight well,” he said, his voice disguised. “Yield, and I will not hurt you.” _It’s Felix_ , Dimitri thought, and for a moment, he felt as if he would gladly be the one to yield to him, to go where Felix went, and disregard his duties, the responsibilities he bore to the dead. 

“Yield, Felix!” Dimitri said again. With a burst of strength, he attacked. Felix parried, moving into position. Suddenly, his sword broke in half, and he stepped back, faltering. He was on the ground now, looking as if he had surrendered.

“You’re going to kill me now, aren’t you? You’re exactly who I think you are. _Dimitri._ ” Felix was glaring fiercely, anger radiating off of him. 

_How did he become like this?_ Dimitri wondered.

And Dimitri decided to do something stupid. Felix’s eyes widened as he took off the mask.

“It is you… Dimitri,” Felix said. “What are you doing?” He looked sad on the ground like that, sword broken, as if all the fight had gone out of him. Dimitri wondered if he had another weapon with him - perhaps a dagger? He remembered that Felix had gotten injured once, during a mission that Dimitri had failed. Rodrigue had been angry that day. He wondered if Felix was still hurt. But he didn’t fight like someone burdened by an old injury.

Heat spread through Dimitri’s chest. He smiled. Felix looked so different from what he remembered, but he was here. _Do I look so different to him, too_? Dimitri crouched down, bringing himself to Felix’s level.

“Come with me, Felix. I’ll take you to see Rodrigue and we’ll -”

“You’ll take me to see my father, will you?” Felix moved back slowly, widening the distance between them ever so slightly. “Why are you in touch with my father? Why do you look like _that_? Why are you doing, in front of my _home_?” He was rambling, Dimitri realised. He took note of how disheveled Felix looked after their fight - hair messy and out of place, flowing down to his neck. There were the sad remains of his sword, right beside him.

“You’re upset,” Dimitri said.

Felix’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve been ignoring all of my questions. Tell me what you and my father are doing. Where’s Glenn?”

_I’ll take him home,_ Dimitri thought. _It’ll be easy to explain once we’re home. Rodrigue will be happy to see him_.

“I regret having to do this,” Felix said. And Dimitri felt something striking him - a spell, perhaps Thoron? - before everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dimitri's resistance stat got screwed over


	4. EDELGARD II

The first thing Edelgard did the day before her coronation was have tea with her mother.

“My dear daughter,” Patricia said. “I regret that you have had to shoulder so much responsibility at such an early age. If I had known that this was going to happen, perhaps I would have stayed in the Empire. But I cannot truthfully say that the Empire would have protected you any better.” Patricia looked frail. Frailer than Edelgard had ever seen her looking. 

They had spent so little time together since the King had taken ill. Her eyes were hollows. There was a sense of weariness to the way she carried herself. Patricia had once been celebrated for her charm, but Edelgard only saw a tired mother. It was hard to reconcile with the glittering, cheerful figure that now only existed in her memories.

Edelgard shook her head. “Don’t apologise, mother. There is so much to be done; so many problems demand my attention that I believe that it’s unlikely that I would have been able to ignore them, no matter the setting. Besides, I know you and my uncle had a good reason to flee.”

“I wish my brother had told me more,” Patricia said, sighing. “Considering his role in the noble rebellion, I don’t think any of us could have stayed in the Empire for much longer. And I have heard loathsome rumours about the Prime Minister, and…”

“My siblings?” Edelgard frowned. The steam from her tea warmed her face. “The rumours of their disappearances? And how they’ve been covered up in such a strange way? No one knows exactly how they’ve disappeared. Only… Only that it all began after the nobles rebelled against my father.”

Her uncle. The cult that worshipped Nemesis. The noble rebellion. Her siblings’ disappearance. Her step-brother, who was currently chained in the dungeon many levels beneath them, but unwilling to tell her anything. The role that her uncle had played in the noble rebellion, and the subsequent rumours that Prime Minister von Aegir had threatened her uncle with exile sometime after they had argued. 

All Edelgard had was rumours and misinformation, vague intelligence that Hubert had gathered. She was afraid. There was so much she didn’t know; fear gripped her constantly. Was she taking the wrong steps? Was she making herself more vulnerable? Her enemies had no real face.

Edelgard continued, “It’s just that - I believe that I have a _duty_ to do what I’m doing. I may be the rightful heir to the Empire, but there is so much more to it than that. I’m in a unique position - only I can find out what happened to my family. I can stop more people from suffering the way that they have. It would be irresponsible for me to simply ignore this - to allow the Empire and Fodlan to stagnate under the influence of vile opportunists.”

“You speak more like a Queen addressing an audience, than the child I once knew,” her mother said, smiling thinly. “You are right. But I can only wonder if it is the Kingdom that has turned you into someone so focused on duty. You have forgotten how to cheer me, even in these private moments of ours. I am proud, of course, but…” She shrugged.

 _Once this is over, once I accomplish what I set out to do, it’ll be like the old days,_ thought Edelgard. And there was so much she had to do. There was the coronation. And there were the Royal Guards she had to appoint soon after, hand-picked to make sure that they would be loyal to her only. There was the issue of extracting information from her long thought dead step-brother, while preventing anyone from finding out he was alive. Felix had returned from his mission a week ago, not with Rodrigue, but with an unconscious Dimitri slung over his horse. The pained expression on Felix’s face had shocked her; Edelgard had not thought he could be so easily troubled. 

Edelgard would have to wait to see how the Empire would respond to the coronation. No doubt they knew about it already. Edelgard would have been naive to assume that there weren’t spies everywhere. But she was the rightful heir to the Empire’s throne, and she meant to have it.

She drank her tea. A floral blend; her mother’s favourite. Sweet and pleasant.

“Do not worry so much about me, mother,” Edelgard said. “I promise that I have no regrets about what I’m doing.”

*

King Lambert’s coronation had been a great affair, a celebration for the entire Kingdom. His abdication and Edelgard’s coronation would be a smaller event. Large celebrations at a time like this were a luxury. Edelgard’s coronation would take place in the Great Hall, in front of a very small audience.

Archbishop Rhea was there, smiling blandly as King Lambert passed the crown onto Edelgard. King Lambert was weak and appeared lethargic; his features were blank. He was a striking contrast to the step-father he had once been, strong and spirited.

“Do you accept this crown, in the name of the Goddess?” King Lambert asked.

“I do,” Edelgard said.

Some part of it seemed unreal to her, like a farce, as if she were holding in a laugh and waiting for everyone to laugh at the joke with her. Edelgard reminded herself that she was the one who orchestrated this. The crown was cold and heavy, gleaming silver, complementing her dark hair. It was as heavy as the ceremonial fur cape she wore, the knight and griffin of the Faerghus flag emblazoned on her back.

Perhaps it was the apprehension that was making her sick. The knowledge that what she was doing was so nontraditional made her nervous; not the breaking tradition itself, but other people’s reactions to it. What she was doing was unprecedented in the entire history of the Kingdom. How many people would she anger by doing this? People who would rather support one of Rufus’ bastards, anyone with Blaiddyd heritage? Or even her step-brother, Dimitri himself, should anyone find out he was alive?

Edelgard had looked for support where she could. Rodrigue Fraldarius, of course, could not be counted on, but she had had countless meetings with the leaders of House Gautier, House Charon, and others. And Archbishop Rhea, who was smiling placidly at her. 

The Throne Room had a small audience, all eyes watching Edelgard with curiosity. She hoped her face did not show any hint of her worries.

“Edelgard von Hresvelg,” said Archbishop Rhea, “do you accept this sword and sceptre from my hand?”

“I do.” Edelgard noted how warm Rhea’s hands felt. Her soothing presence dampened her worries slightly. Rhea’s serene bearing was almost contagious; Edelgard thought she felt her heart rate slow down slightly.

Rhea opened Edelgard’s cape, removing the golden latchets. She anointed her with the holy oil and said, “I anoint you Queen of the Kingdom, in the name of the Goddess.” After the anointing, all that was left was for Rhea to recite a short series of prayers, and for the small audience to formally accept Edelgard as their Queen. _It is done._

Customarily, the coronation took place at a cathedral outside of Fhirdiad. The new reigning monarch would ceremoniously enter the city. The entrance itself would be celebrated with festivities among the people of the city, as the monarch paraded themself around the city on horseback. _I don’t have time for these luxuries_ , Edelgard thought. _I can’t waste my time_.

After the audience pledged their allegiance to their new monarch, Edelgard announced the appointment of the new Royal Guards, ones that she picked out herself. She was glad for this tradition, at least - being able to handpick two people she deemed worthy to be part of her Royal Guard and formalizing it at the very beginning of her reign - it made her feel more in control of who surrounded her.

“Ingrid Galatea. Ashe Ubert,” Edelgard projected her voice across the room. “You two will be the first to join my Royal Guard.” They walked calmly in front of her and kneeled. This had all been practised beforehand.

Edelgard could hardly have believed her luck when it came to the choice of her Royal Guards. With Ingrid alone, she gained the support of the Galatea family - a poor family, to be sure, but it was support nonetheless. With both Ingrid and Ashe, she secured the support of the Lonato family. Ingrid was the wife of one of Lord Lonato’s sons, and Ashe was Lord Lonato’s adoptive son, Ingrid’s brother-in-law. Guaranteed loyalty from two strong individuals, whose strength she had tested in the Academy days. 

Edelgard held the sword that Rhea had given her in her hands, a delicate, silver rapier. She tapped Ingrid’s shoulders with it, then Ashe’s.

“I dub you knights and members of the Royal Guard.” 

They both smiled solemnly.

*

Edelgard met with Hubert and Rhea in her office, the evening after the coronation. There was much to discuss.

“Congratulations,” said Rhea. Her eyes were kind as she looked over Edelgard, assessing her. Edelgard felt a sudden sense of appreciation for her. The Church’s support would be greatly beneficial for her rise to power.

“Thank you,” said Edelgard. She had changed out of her formal clothes, and was wearing a long, navy blue gown with delicate golden embroidery at her wrists, and practical boots. The anointing oil still lingered on her ceremonial clothes. 

“Your support has been… I cannot overstate how grateful I am. I may be the Queen of the Kingdom now, but I have always felt like a princess in exile. I have read about a similar predicament - a foreign prince from Brigid who lived in exile in the Adrestian court hundreds of years ago. He was exiled by pretenders to the throne, and had to live there until the tides turned for him.” Edelgard clenched her fists. “I plan to make the tides turn by myself. I understand that what I’ve done is quite unusual, but I will make everyone see things my way.”

Rhea nodded. “Do you know why I chose to witness your coronation? Why I felt that it was extremely important to convince your step-father to allow this, despite the Church’s official stance of neutrality?”

“Why, it’s because -”

“It’s because what you have told me correlates to the information that I have been told about the Empire, from other sources. I have sent out my people to find out more, after you related those distressing facts to me. This is the rightful time to declare war on the Empire.” Rhea’s eyes flashed with anger. What she was saying and how she was expressing herself was foreign to Edelgard’s understanding of her - a peaceful, serene woman.

“You’re right,” said Edelgard. “It is just that… I am reluctant to do something like this while my father is still alive. How can I rightfully say that the throne to the Empire is mine, while my father still sits on it?”

Rhea nodded in understanding. “It is difficult, I know. But I am certain that he would rather see you fighting against the people that have made his life a living hell, rather than allowing those who have corrupted the Empire continue in their ways.” Her voice had taken on its usual soothing tone again.

“You’re right. Changing the world for the greater good is not possible without sacrifice.” Those words were easy to say when discussing sacrifice in an abstract way, but difficult for her to repeat when the subject was her father. He would essentially become a hostage, for the greater good. She doubted anyone would kill the Emperor; it would be a reckless decision when there was no one left in line for the throne. And she doubted that Prime Minister von Aegir was bold enough to openly declare himself ruler of the Empire.

“The Church has never been one to strike first, but I believe that in these strange circumstances, we must be more assertive. We must recover the stolen Crest Stones. Any noble that would work with this - _cult_ \- is beyond forgiveness.”

 _Crest Stones?_ Edelgard thought.

“I assure you, Edelgard, that you may count on me for full support.” Rhea looked at Edelgard warmly and pressed their hands together. “We must act quickly, yet cautiously. Let us discuss this further tomorrow.” Rhea would be staying in Fhirdiad Castle on official business for the time being, so they would have ample time to talk together. 

As Rhea left, Edelgard said to Hubert, quietly, “I am glad we have someone like that on our side.”

“I am loathe to trust someone so quickly, especially when she does not appear to be asking for much in return. We must always prepare for the worst,” Hubert said.

Edelgard frowned. “She mentioned something about stolen Crest Stones. I wonder why exactly they have been stolen. Regardless, I will help her retrieve anything as long as she is our ally. Hubert, let me see the manifesto we’ve been working on.”

He withdrew it from a locked drawer in the office, a draft of the letter they planned to distribute to the nobility in the Empire. If they could find more allies before they openly attacked the Empire, that would be all for the better. Hubert was planning to leave for the Empire soon, to find allies for her through honest means or otherwise. Edelgard thought her position was quite reasonable; any sensible person who read and understood her arguments would surely agree with her.

“We must make it clear that the nobility has gone against the will of the Goddess.” Edelgard’s relationship with religion was casual at best, but there was nothing wrong with using any argument at her disposal. The Church and the Empire may have been on bad terms, but there were doubtlessly still pious nobles. “Let’s add this from the Book of Seiros… In time, the nobility amassed Crests, Relics, land, and wealth, using all to set the land aflame with war. The Goddess’s power, intended to stem the flow of evil, had become a tool of destruction, all because of the greed of humanity. The Goddess grieved and, heartbroken, hid herself in the heavens from whence she came…”

Edelgard skimmed through the rest of the manifesto. “The Empire has been slowly plunged into ruins since the noble rebellion against their rightful Emperor, for their own personal gain. They have ignored the plight of their vulnerable citizens. By the will of the Goddess, and with the support of the Church, I will do my duty as the rightful heir to the Adrestian Empire, and claim it from those who would abuse it,” she read out loud. “That sounds quite effective, don’t you think?”

“Anyone who would remain neutral after reading this would be a fool,” Hubert said. 

Edelgard nodded. “I hope you are right. I wish we could deal with the real threat outright. I will take the throne, and wipe the slate clean. And any nobles that are against me will be dealt with appropriately.” 

“Corruption and nobility… Where you find one, you find the other. It is only natural.”

“Speaking of which, I am grateful you gave up your claims to House Vestra to come to the Kingdom with me.”

“A member of House Vestra that would neglect its duty by failing to protect those whom they were assigned to protect would be quite pointless, Lady Edelgard.” He smiled grimly. “I would suggest we turn our attention to House Fraldarius. Felix has not done his duty. He failed to return with his father.”

“But he returned with something much better!” Edelgard protested. “He brought my step-brother. I know he has the answers to what happened to my siblings. I know it.”

“He has brought a snake to our midst. He brought someone who could dispute your claim to the throne right before coronation. Someone who could escape from his cell quite easily. He could do you a great deal of harm if he escaped. I would have killed him, for your sake, if you had not explicitly forbidden it. Or at least found a better way to coax some answers from him,” said Hubert.

“He is stronger than I remember him being as a child,” said Edelgard.

“There are ways to subdue even the strongest man,” said Hubert. “That crest of his may give him a certain… destructive strength, but I would be remiss if I simply allowed him to stay in his cell without preventing him from escaping.”

“As long as we keep him a secret from everyone, I think I’m safe.” She thought of Dimitri. He had once been her clumsy step-brother, before he had disappeared, and been reborn. How weary he looked now. And how uncharacteristically distraught Felix had seemed when he had brought Dimitri in. 

“We should go and question him tomorrow. Before you leave. And we should bring Felix along with us,” Edelgard said.

“As you wish.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> up next: felix meets up with dimitri, yet again.


	5. FELIX II

Felix had brought Dimitri to Fhirdiad Castle a week before Edelgard’s coronation, carried by his horse, in the dead of night. It had been pure luck that had allowed him to do that - Dimitri could have woken up at any moment.

Dimitri had seemed quite insistent on bringing him back home. Felix wondered if he should have followed him. It was not as if he had felt the same blind loyalty to Edelgard that Hubert did, or felt the same awe that Ingrid did. He had been raised for something else, and he hated it.

“To be honest,” Edelgard had said, after they had snuck him in. “I have a hard time believing that this could be my step-brother. This man doesn’t resemble him in the slightest. Just look at his hair.”

“It’s him. I guarantee it. He was the Flame Prince. It’s Dimitri,” Felix had said. And that had been the end of that.

*

Ever since Felix had brought Dimitri back to Fhirdiad Castle, Dimitri had been the only thing occupying his thoughts. Was ‘brought him back’ the right way to phrase it? After all, Dimitri had once been raised in the castle, and been prince and heir to the throne. But the Dimitri he knew was dead. Felix was sure of that.

This Dimitri barely looked like his old Dimitri, first of all. This Dimitri - he wore an eyepatch. He looked _dangerous_. And he did not act like the old Dimitri. The old Dimitri would never, ever have - 

Felix stared at his fish and bean soup miserably. All the food he had eaten for the past month seemed to have become blander.

“Felix!” It was Ingrid. She was so cheerfully loud now that she had achieved her goal of becoming a knight. _A true knight_. He could hear her from across the Great Hall. She found a seat beside him. There was an air of happiness and pride about her now.

“You’re awfully loud,” said Felix. “Shouldn’t you be with Edelgard?”

“She’s _Queen_ Edelgard now. Besides, being a member of the Royal Guard doesn’t mean I can’t talk with you when I get the chance. You’ve been so mopey,” she said. “Did something happen? Usually, you’re done with breakfast and off at the training grounds by this time of day. Are you feeling alright?”

“I’m fine. You don’t need to be nosy.”

Ingrid looked as if she didn’t notice Felix’s prickly tone of voice at all, as if nothing could hurt her. As if there was something protecting her. And it wasn’t as if Felix could tell her what Dimitri was like now and put a damper on her mood, even if he wanted to. 

She had accomplished what she had set out to do. She had helped her family and married Christophe Lonato. She had proven her prowess as a Pegasus Knight, had proven her loyalty well enough that the Edelgard has seen fit to take her into her service.

Felix wondered what Glenn had felt like when he had become a Royal Guard. It was so long ago. His father had been different then, so proud of Glenn.

Felix wondered how much it would hurt Ingrid to mention that Dimitri was still alive. That there was a small chance that Glenn had not simply disappeared. Felix could hardly hope for it himself. He wanted to believe it. Glenn’s body had never been found.

Felix decided not to mention it.

Ingrid continued to chatter on cheerfully. “Anyway, Christophe sent me a letter congratulating me on the appointment. He seemed quite proud.”

“Did he?”

“Yes. Admittedly, I haven’t seen much of him recently. He’s quite pious, you know - he’s visiting the Western Church right now. He… He told me that he couldn’t be happier for me. Ashe is prodding him to visit Fhirdiad. I wish the Lonato estate wasn’t so far from Fhirdidad Castle, but Christophe has been very understanding about me spending most of my time here.” Ingrid smiled. “It makes me wonder why Her Majesty didn’t make that sorcerer of hers, Hubert, a part of her Royal Guard, too? He’s always beside her, looking at you in the most menacing way…”

Felix scoffed. “If Edelgard made Hubert a part of her Royal Guard, it would really make the job meaningless.” The way his father had reacted to Dimitri and Glenn’s disappearances, it had proven as much - chivalry was a hollow concept, worse than meaningless. Despite this, Felix could not begin to consider a man like Hubert joining the Royal Guard or becoming a knight - a man like that was better off where people couldn’t see him.

“It’d be funny to think about, wouldn’t it?” said Ingrid. She finished the remains of her food quickly. “I’ll be seeing you, Felix!”

Felix still had not eaten any of his soup.

*

Edelgard and Hubert came to find Felix in the training grounds later that day. Felix was fighting against a younger squire, both of them using wooden training swords. Although the squire was protecting himself with a wooden shield, he could barely keep up with Felix.

Felix fought with a detached sense of calmness. This squire was much weaker than him, and this fight was more for the squire’s benefit than his. As Felix parried the squire’s weak blows, he thought of Dimitri. He had thought he was going to die in his fight with Dimitri. He had been fighting with desperation and a pure, brute strength that was far beyond what Felix remembered.

Dimitri had broken his sword, and told him he was going to take Felix _home_. He had said he was going to take him back to Rodrigue. Dimitri had been holding back his strength - Felix realised that if Dimitri had wanted to, he could have beaten him quite easily. Only the fact that Dimitri had not expected any magic from him - that was how he had surprised him and brought him back to Fhirdiad.

Felix broke the squire’s shield with a heavy blow of his sword; he had swung too hard. The squire stepped back.

“Felix,” Edelgard said, staring at him. “Are you busy right now? We have something we must discuss.” 

“No,” Felix said. He glanced at his squire, and nodded at him. He wasn’t hurt - only the wooden shield was damaged.

“Follow me.” 

Felix threw down the sword, and Hubert followed behind him. Edelgard was casual about the way she roamed about the castle. Looking at her, she still seemed more like the student that she had been at Garreg Mach than the Queen of the Kingdom. She was still much shorter than Felix.

_Why do I care if she seems like a Queen or not,_ thought Felix. Perhaps he still harboured hopes that Dimitri would take the throne? But that was foolish. Edelgard had conducted her coronation almost immediately after he had brought Dimitri to her. And in the state that Dimitri was in now, it would have been absurd to allow him to become king.

They walked through the castle in silence, down the steps to the dungeon cells. He recognised the path. Edelgard and Hubert walked confidently, as if they knew the castle better than him. Felix could feel Hubert glaring behind him. 

“You did not complete your initial mission,” Hubert said. “Not only did you fail to bring your father back, as ordered, but the man you did drag along to the castle has been… very difficult to subdue. And very reluctant to give up any information. Will he be any more forthcoming with you here, I wonder? If I recall correctly, you two were childhood friends. Will that make a difference?”

“I don’t know where my father is,” said Felix. He ignored the rest.

“And yet, you have not done anything more to look for him! You simply brought back Her Majesty’s step-brother, and did nothing else! Hiding in the training grounds and practising swordplay against training dummies, as if that is useful to Her Majesty at all!”

Felix clenched his fists. Edelgard did not look back.

“Where is that infamous Faerghus loyalty? You certainly are doing a poor job of expressing it. If it were my father doing anything to endanger Her Majesty, I would not rest until I found him and killed him.”

“Don’t be stupid,” said Felix. “My father clearly doesn’t want to be found, and Edelgard herself -”

“That is _Her Majesty_ to you.”

“She didn’t say anything after I brought Dimitri back. Why don’t you go search for him?” Was Felix really allowing himself to be baited by Edelgard’s lapdog? How humiliating. He should have kept his mouth shut. Ingrid was right - Hubert was menacing, even more so in the poor lighting of the dungeon hallways. 

“Hubert will be busy packing his valise and leaving on a for a mission for me,” said Edelgard. Her voice was serene. “He’ll be going to the Alliance for diplomatic reasons.”

“Right,” said Felix. “I’ve done what I could. I’ve brought _him_ back. And he’s not my childhood friend or her step-brother anymore.”

“And despite all of this, you still seem quite concerned about him. Despite his actions as the Flame Prince - shall I recall them? Aiding in kidnapping, Remire Village, and so on. It is really too much to name, but he has made it quite clear that he has been working against us, specifically.”

“I’m not concerned for him.”

“Do you think so? Let’s look at this through the impersonal viewpoint. You’ve been asking Her Majesty about him every day since he arrived. You couldn’t even make it through this walk without allowing me to goad you. You should work on being more professional. Remember that if you have any conflicting loyalties, I will make you regret -”

“Ah, we’re here!” Edelgard said, interrupting Hubert before he could finish his threat. Hubert dismissed the guard outside of the cell.

There was Dimitri, the at the foot of the cell. Even after a week behind bars, he did not look like a prisoner at all. He was asleep, but Felix could still see the casual strength in his posture.

“Couldn’t he get out like this?” asked Felix. He looked at Hubert doubtfully. Neither the cell bars nor the handcuffs would do much good to prevent Dimitri from leaving, if Felix’s first impression of him was correct. Dimitri had broken Felix’s sword while fighting him - it would be nothing for Dimitri to break the handcuffs and walk out. 

And yet, Dimitri slept, unaware of the people in front of him.

“Don’t presume that I would simply allow him to walk out and leave. Admittedly, we were lucky that you had enough of a grasp on any sort of magic that you were able to surprise and disarm him, and bring him back to the castle unconscious. Although he was quite the challenge to suppress after he started waking up.”

“What did you do to him?”

Hubert smiled. “You sound as if you suspect me of something unbecoming. I have my methods.”

Staring at Dimitri, Felix wondered what exactly Hubert had used that had put Dimitri in such a deep sleep. Sedatives? Magic? Certainly the chains were more for show.

“Why don’t we wake him up? Gently, Hubert. I don’t want any harm coming to him while he’s still in our keeping,” Edelgard said.

Hubert glared at Felix. “You should be grateful to Her Majesty that she is being so merciful. I told her that he would be better off dead than in captivity. And failing to convince her of that, I told her that there are much better ways of getting information from a prisoner. But she refuses. I hope you will not do anything to betray her trust.” He waved his hand casually towards Dimitri, casting some sort of spell. “Rise.”

Dimitri awoke, slowly. Felix forgot his urge to disparage Hubert as his blood grew cold. He would not show it. Fear was a dangerous thing for a swordsman, and Felix had long believed that he had mastered it. Of course, as a child, when his teachers had taught him about fighting, they always spoke of the enemy as a faceless stranger.

Never this, never his _prince_ in front of him, with the face of a stranger.

His eyepatch was gone; there was an unsightly scar running down his right eye. His hair was white, and and his remaining left eye - it was not the blue Felix remembered. Scars too, where his clothes had ripped. Felix knew what battle scars looked like, but these were not battle scars. There shouldn’t be scars all over his arms, unless Dimitri had willingly allowed someone to cut him up repeatedly, without defending himself. That was impossible. 

Glassy-eyed, Dimitri looked at the three of them, as if waiting for them to prompt the conversation.

“Go on and ask him. Who is he working for? What are their goals? What happened when he left the Kingdom? What is Rodrigue planning?” said Edelgard quietly. “He didn’t recognise me at all, you know.”

_You didn’t recognise him either_ , thought Felix. He was the only one who had, really. Repeating Edelgard’s questions, he stared at Dimitri. But Dimitri only looked back at him, and said, “Glenn?”

Felix’s heart sank. How could Dimitri bring up his brother’s name at a time like this? Dimitri had recognised him, when they were fighting. It was as if he was looking straight through him now, seeing someone else.

“Don’t be angry, Glenn. I’m only doing what was instructed of me.” Dimitri’s voice was weak. 

Felix turned a sharp eye to Hubert and Edelgard. “I’m not doing this anymore. You won’t get a real answer from him. He may be Dimitri, but he’s not who he was.” Felix hurried toward the exit in anger, before either of them could stop him. 

It had been foolish to think that he could have gotten a real answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm rereading this and realising felix is really really mean to everyone around him.


End file.
